I am a Mother
by shegoismyfav
Summary: "Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation." -Robert A. Heinlein


"Adoptive Mom? I am a mom. I need no other title or prefix." -Joanne Greco

It started at school. Children could be cruel, a lesson all adults knew, regardless of whether or not they had children of their own. And most little squabbles could be handled with a bit of advice or a call to a teacher or parent, but certain things went past cruel and into merciless pain. And there was a line that children just didn't cross, regardless of their age or intention. And for Ms. Bellum, that invisible and unspoken line had been not only crossed, but pole vaulted over with one sentence spoken to her three daughters.

"She's not your real mom, she only adopted you."

While it was true she had adopted her children, it didn't mean she loved them any less. She had simply married their father and, since she already loved them as if they were her own, she legally adopted them. Unfortunately, all the children at school became aware of the new arrangement. After all, it wasn't every day that the town's most famous professor married the mayor's assistant. And it wasn't every day that the Powerpuff Girls gained a mother.

She had hoped that since they were so beloved that the children wouldn't draw attention to the one thing that made them different from most of the other children. But they had, and unfortunately she couldn't really help. Oh, she could put a stop to it, of course she could, but the idea had already been planted and the psychological damage done, and that she couldn't undo. As if she didn't already feel insecure as a mother, she had to reassure her daughters that they were just as normal as everyone else. They easily accepted it, at least from what she could tell, and all she could do was hope that the subject would be forgotten.

She couldn't be so lucky.

"Wait until your parents have a baby, then you'll see how much you mean to them."

"Does she treat you different because you're adopted?"

And her personal favorite that absolutely destroyed the notion of a line...

"You know she doesn't love you, right? She can't. You're not hers, not really."

That had been the final straw, especially when she had her office window destroyed by three sobbing nine year olds. At first, she was confused, not only because they were crying, but because they should still be at school.

"Girls, girls, what's wrong?" she asked, shifting so that they all fit into her embrace.

"They-they said-" Blossom started, but couldn't finish because of her sobs.

"-couldn't love us!" Buttercup added.

"-'cause...adopted!" finished Bubbles.

"Wait, wait, take a deep breath and slow down. Now, what happened?"

"Some of the kids at school said that you couldn't love us because we weren't your children!" Blossom said, hiccuping soon after.

The older redhead's eyes hardened, what once were two pools of warm blue hardening into two flecks of unforgiving ice. Unconsciously, her grip on her children tightened, bringing them closer to her body to shield them from the proverbial pain.

"Girls, listen to me," she began, looking each girl in the eyes. "I love you so much it hurts. Just because I didn't give birth to you doesn't mean I can't or don't love you. Yes, you're adopted, but that was just the icing on the cake. I don't need some fancy paper to tell me I'm your mother.

I know I am, because I love you and you love me, and that's all that matters. Adoption isn't something to be ashamed of, or something to deny. It just means that someone finally found a child to love and that child found a loving home. You're not even truly adopted since I married your father.

But even if you were, I wouldn't want you to be ashamed of it. I'd want you accept it and embrace it and make it a part of yourself. I want you to do that anyway. Being legally adopted because I married the Professor is a part of you, just like your superpowers. So embrace it, smile, and proudly say that you have a mother that loves you."

"But we're still different," Buttercup grumbled. "We're test tube babies _and_ we were adopted. Why can't we be normal?"

"Buttercup, sometimes being normal is overrated. It's good to be a little different. And so what if you don't have quote unquote normal parents? We love you, and wouldn't let anything happen to you if our lives depended on it," Ms. Bellum said, praying she was doing this right.

"So...you love us? Even though we aren't really your children?" Bubbles asked.

"First of all, you are my children. Second of all, yes, I love you all so very much."

"And even if you and the Professor have a baby you'll still love us?"

"Even if the Professor and I have a million babies I'll still love you. Nothing will change that."

"Really?"

"Really," Ms. Bellum said with a smile.

They hugged her fiercely, their tears drying and fading away.

"We love you, Mom," they chorused.

"I love you, too. Now I think you should be getting back to school, don't you?"

"Yes, Mom," Blossom said. "Thanks for everything."

They flew out the window, hopefully back to school. The redhead, sighed and looked down at her left hand at her wedding band. She toyed with it for a few minutes, lost in thought. She spun it around and around, thinking over what she had said to the girls. Finally, she released her ring and picked up the phone.

She took a deep breath and dialed the number for Pokey Oaks Elementary.

"Hello? Is this Ms. Black? This is Mrs. Utonium, the girls' mother? Yes, I am also the mayor's secretary. The girls came to see me and informed me of a troubling problem..."

"Mom! Mom!" Ms. Bellum heard later in the afternoon as she walked in the door of her home. Three streaks of light shot toward her, stopping inches short of hitting her.

"What?"

"You'll never believe what happened after we went back to school!" Blossom said.

"The kids that were teasing us, they apologized! They said they didn't mean what they said, and that they only said it because they were jealous!" Buttercup added.

"And they promised to never, ever do it again!" Bubbles finished.

"They did? Well, I'm glad they realized they were wrong to tease you," she said, kissing each one on the cheek before going upstairs to change.

The well-placed call and subsequent threat to have their teacher fired if the problem wasn't resolved might have helped with that outcome. She couldn't help the smirk that crossed her features as she climbed the stairs. Being the mayor's assistant was stressful, but it occasionally had an upside. Needless to say Ms. Black wasn't going to tolerate anymore bullying. She had meant what she told the girls earlier in the afternoon: she loved them, and nothing was going to hurt them if she could help it.

She may not be their biological mother, but she was their mother, and nothing was going to hurt her daughters.

"Motherhood is miraculous. The feelings are just as real and just as deep, regardless of whether or not there is a biological connection."-Unknown


End file.
